Work Text:
Jason’s day had been going absolutely fine until he showed up at one of Black Mask’s warehouses to find Nightwing already scoping the place out.
Fuck No. This is his bust. He’s been planning this for weeks and if all goes according to plan this will put him one more wrung up the underground crime ladder and one step closer to shutting Black Mask down for good. So there is no way in hell he’s letting the Golden Boy fuck with his plans tonight.
He lands on the roof next to Nightwing roughly. He wants him to know he’s pissed.
They're silent for a moment before Nightwing speaks up, “Hey there Little Wing, what can I do for you on a fine night like tonight?” and he’s got that disgusting shit eating smile that pisses Jason off even more.
“Fuck off, Dickwing, this is my bust, I’ve been planning it for weeks and there's no way in hell I’m letting you blow it to shit.”
Nightwing frowns, “There’s a lot of guys down there Hood, You sure you don’t want my help?”
“Nope, no way, nadda I’ve got this 'wing and the only thing your presence will do is screw it up. Leave.” but Nightwing doesn’t look like he’s ready to leave and Jason is just impressed he hasn’t reached for his guns yet considering how absolutely done he is with Nightwing’s mother hen bullshit.
Then he hears the truck pull up and he knows he has to move. Fuck and he hadn’t gotten rid of Goldie yet which means he’ll probably follow Jason in. He won’t if he knows what's good for him but the idiot has never been good at that.
Whatever, Jason doesn’t have anymore time. If he doesn’t move now the plan is shot.
“Stay. Here.” He grinds out before jumping down into position. He knows it’s fruitless but it’s worth a shot.
He makes his way around the back soundlessly. Contrary to popular belief, Jason is actually good at stealth. He was trained by assassins and he knows there's a time and place for guns blazing and explosives but this is not it. He planned this operation to the minute and Nightwing was not part of it. Unfortunately he’ll have to alter that plan because he sees a shadow drop down on the other side of the back entrance.
Fucking fine. He puts up 3 fingers and starts counting down. When the last finger goes down, two thugs walk out of the warehouse and Dick and Jason move in tandem. They both grab a thug using one hand to muffle any yells and then simultaneously nerve strike them both, knocking them unconscious, and dragging them out of the way.
They slip into the warehouse and behind some crates, Jason grabs Dick’s collar, “Listen close Goldie, 12 guys inside, more coming in the trucks, we need to take out the guys inside so the trucks won’t overwhelm us. This building is rigged to blow in half an hour after we’ve taken out the last truck. Don’t get killed ‘cause i’m not dragging your dead ass back to daddy.”
Jason can see Dick roll his eyes behind the domino then he gives Jason a thumbs up and moves along the crates for a better vantage point. He keeps eyes on ‘wing and waits for his good to go signal. Then they move.
They move swiftly taking out the first twelve with no problem. They fall into old patterns and it’s a little scary how quickly Jason falls back into working with Dick. As he is now, he’s close enough to Dick in training that they work well together. Almost like a team. Almost like brothers.
It’s not that Jason doesn’t want that. He’s given up on his supposed father figure a long time ago but Dick hasn’t stopped reaching out and the replacement isn’t half bad and he thinks maybe he could do the brothers thing. But Dick doesn’t need him. Tim is the perfect little brother with the hero worship and the hugs and shit. And Dick was so much better to Tim then he was with Jason. It's obvious he doesn’t fit into their brotherly dynamic and he never will be anything beyond what he is now, so he wishes they would just stop trying to care about him.
It has to be exhausting.
Jason is brash and violent and he won’t compromise his beliefs just because they want him to come to dinner. Not to mention if he does give this a chance its only a matter of time before they realise it's a waste of time. He’s a waste of time.
They finish tying up the things and moving them outside and then the next truck pulls up and they jump right back into it. Two shots here, another over there. He can hear Dick grunt as he goes full force with his escrima, dodging fire from the opposition. Sometimes he forgets Dick is an actual fucking bird and then he sees him fly. It still leaves Jason in awe sometimes when he sees the way the other man can move.
Jason lets off a shot and starts to lose track of who’s firing from where but eventually the room falls silent and he and Dick start dragging these guys out too. If Jason had his way he’d leave them here for the explosives but Dick wouldn’t let that happen and then he might get caught in the explosion so he continues working.
They get all the thugs out and check for any civilians and Jason looks at the clock. 5 minutes to spare. Maybe he underestimated how much time he needed when he was still doing this alone.
Whatever, it’s done now.
“Pack it up ‘wing, it's time for the fireworks.” Dick doesn’t answer but he hears a grapnel fire so he follows him up to the rooftops. When he lands he hears Dick hiss in pain. Fuck, the idiot probably got hit and didn’t say anything.
He comes around the AC unit and yep, Dick is bleeding from his thigh and it doesn’t show any signs of stopping. “You idiot, why didn't you say anything.” he says as he moves to Dick’s side to start examining the wound. The thing is Jason knows gunshot wounds. The guns those thugs were carrying wouldn’t have made a hole this size in Dick’s leg. Jason's stomach sinks just as Dick shrugs him off.
“It's fine, Little Wing, I'll head back to the cave and get checked out, don’t worry about it.” and he goes to move but his injured leg gives out.
Jason's arms go around his waist and hoist him up before Jason even registers he’s moving. “Don't be an idiot, I have a safe house close and you're losing blood too fast.”
It’s a testament to how much pain his leg must be in that he hardly protests when Jason starts pulling him along. He won’t know until they get the bullet out but Jason is pretty sure he owes him this much. If his assumption is right he unknowingly shot his brother and while he doesn't particularly like that 'wing was here tonight he wasn’t going to commit fratricide over it.
Not to mention he always knows where his bullet lands. That’s part of being a good marksman. He’s not sure how he could have missed this even if Dick had jumped in the way at the last minute. Fuck. He shot Dick.
He’s in for it now.
He drags Dick to his apartment and up the fire escape. Dick is less with it now, probably due to blood loss but it shows that despite Jason shooting Dick he still trusts him. Dick wouldn’t let himself get this close to unconsciousness if he didn’t trust Jason a little. They're all good at keeping themselves awake if they need to.
Jason isn’t sure what to do with that trust.
He sets Dick down on the couch and moves for a med kit. He doesn't have any painkillers so he grabs an old T-shirt and hands it to Dick. He gives him a thumbs up and then Jason starts to dig. Dick is yelling behind the t-shirt but he blocks him out.
The pieces he pulls out prove his suspicions. The bullet was one of his.
The realisation causes him to roll back on his knees for a second and run a hand through his hair.
He shot Dick.
Dick sees his distress and grabs the hand that runs through his hair. He pulls the shirt out and whispers hoarsely, “It’s okay, Jaybird, it wasn’t your fault.” which is bullshit. No one else pulled the trigger, but Dick is still bleeding so he nods and moves to start stitching him up.
Dick is pretty out of it when he’s done so he bandages him up and leaves to shower.
He comes back to the living room an hour later, freshly showered, with a sealed water bottle and a grilled cheese sandwich and he places it in front of Dick. He seems to be coming back now so that’s good. The food and water will help.
He shot Dick. He owes him this much.
He turns to go after that. Dick doesn’t need him here not after what happened. But he feels Dick grab his hand and pull him down to the couch. “Stay.” He whispers as he lays his head on Jason's shoulder. It’s nice. Jason doesn't deserve it. But Dick had asked and well Jason owes him.
In truth Jason owes him for more than just what happened tonight. With that in mind he leans his head on Dick’s and says, “Alfred still does crepes on Sunday mornings?” and he feels Dick smile on his shoulder. Damn this man is a pain in Jason’s ass, but then again, brother’s are supposed to be like that he thinks. Maybe it’ll hurt when they turn their backs but Jason’s been hurt before. Maybe having brothers could be okay… while it lasts.